All official host communication on Withlocals goes through the chat in Messages. If someone claiming to be your host reaches out to you outside the platform, treat it with caution.
How Withlocals handles host messages
When you open a chat with your host inside Withlocals, every conversation shows this reminder at the top:
For your safety, always communicate and transfer money via the Withlocals website or app.
That banner is always present. If you do not see it, you are not in the Withlocals chat.
Withlocals never asks you to pay your host outside the platform. Every payment goes through the checkout on the website or in the app.
Signs something is off
Be suspicious if someone contacting you:
Asks you to pay, tip, or top up your booking outside Withlocals
Asks you to move the conversation to another messaging app before the experience
Asks for your password, full card details, or a verification code
How to report a contact
If a conversation in Withlocals chat feels wrong, you can report the contact from inside the chat:
Open Messages and select the conversation.
Open the chat options.
Tap Report {contact name}.
You can report the contact for hate speech, inappropriate behavior, spam, or a scam or fraud.
If the problem is about the booking itself rather than the conversation, see What if something goes wrong?.
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